Predator picking off chickens One by One

[LeoTheUnicorn]

Okay, so we have been having chickens go missing left and right, with obvious signs that they were killed ( feathers, ripped off wings, even the chicken partially eaten and left). I know why, the chickens free range, so the door to their coop is pretty much always open ( any broods of chicks are put into a small coop inside the main and aren't allowed to range until almost full grown). I will never go another night without closing it though. My previous batch of 7 chicks is left to a dwindling 1, as well as my second batch going from 9 to 2. My first batch of 7 chicks were born late summer, so they were about 2 or 3 months. We had 2 left, even have pictures of them playing only days ago. I woke up this morning to find that 1 of the 2 young pullets is missing, clear signs that it had been mauled and dragged somewhere.

I nearly cried this evening when the 2 pullet began crying. It's like a distressed trill and she couldn't settle, pacing the coop and running back to mama. This went on for nearly an hour. She's only a few months old and all her siblings have been killed by what I think is a raccoon(s). Raccoons are really vicious predators when it comes to chickens and I'm not sure what to do as far as when they are in the coop. By where the feathers are piled, the raccoon(s) seems to be using the coop to corner them and kill them. I'm not sure if it can climb into the coop, but by the fact that many of our older hens are found with their heads ripped off THROUGH the coop fencing, I'm not sure what to do.

If there are any ideas as far as keeping the coop safe and either catching or killing the coon, please let me know. Thank you.

 

[Duckee]

They are getting killed with the coop completely closed up at night?
I dont know what your coop "fencing" material is...but I learned the hard way that chicken wire is not preditor proof. Hardware cloth is much better.
Also, critters will dig under coops, so attaching hardware cloth to the bottom of the coop and burying it about 18" into the ground helped me to keep critters from getting into my coop and killing any more of my chickens.
Another problem area could be the door. I had to put locks on top & bottom of the doors because raccoons would get thier paws in and pull one end out. Make sense?
I dont live in open country/farm land so I dont have expertise in all or very large predators. I hope this helps some though.

 

[Matejka]

Close run door at night. Put birds in coop at night and close coop door. Get a live trap. Their not too expensive-i got mine @ tractor supply. Got for under around $30. Someone nearby may have one you can borrow. Trap coon;kill coon, reset i would not suggest taking trapped coon to another location. Many areas that is illegal.
Why give your problem ( coon) to someone else). So be prepared to kill coon.
Free ranging is good, however, we do need to be responsible bird owners.
Secure the birds at night. You can do this. Good luck.

 

[Aapomp831]

Get a trap and kill that m effer. Simple as that.

 

[Cee]

Okay, so we have been having chickens go missing left and right, with obvious signs that they were killed ( feathers, ripped off wings, even the chicken partially eaten and left). I know why, the chickens free range, so the door to their coop is pretty much always open ( any broods of chicks are put into a small coop inside the main and aren't allowed to range until almost full grown). I will never go another night without closing it though. My previous batch of 7 chicks is left to a dwindling 1, as well as my second batch going from 9 to 2. My first batch of 7 chicks were born late summer, so they were about 2 or 3 months. We had 2 left, even have pictures of them playing only days ago. I woke up this morning to find that 1 of the 2 young pullets is missing, clear signs that it had been mauled and dragged somewhere.

I nearly cried this evening when the 2 pullet began crying. It's like a distressed trill and she couldn't settle, pacing the coop and running back to mama. This went on for nearly an hour. She's only a few months old and all her siblings have been killed by what I think is a raccoon(s). Raccoons are really vicious predators when it comes to chickens and I'm not sure what to do as far as when they are in the coop. By where the feathers are piled, the raccoon(s) seems to be using the coop to corner them and kill them. I'm not sure if it can climb into the coop, but by the fact that many of our older hens are found with their heads ripped off THROUGH the coop fencing, I'm not sure what to do.

If there are any ideas as far as keeping the coop safe and either catching or killing the coon, please let me know. Thank you.

Please please consider no more chickens until you have a way to make sure you have a safe place for them to be? https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/simple-predator-proof-poultry-run.76036

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/predator-proofing-for-new-and-existing-coops

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Yikes. Raccoons are a mess. And even when we think that we have them beat they come back and sneak in some more. It's OK - we all make mistakes. I went years without a coon in the coop, until one day I didn't have chickens any more. Then I went another year without a coon in my NEW coop that I thought was great - until one day I lost a chckcen again. It's OK to make mistakes, it just sucks.

So, since you're feeling confident that it's a coon, you need to do two things - 1/2" hardware cloth and solid latches on each door. I'm not talking dinky little push latches or chains on a track.

These are worthless latches.
You want...

THESE. And you want a carabiner through that loop for raccoons. Easy to upgrade to a padlock if you ever run into problems with people, too. You want these on every mobile surface you can - pop doors, man doors, nest boxes.... Doesn't matter, latch it down on all corners and middles. The only reason they haven't ripped open a door is because the wire is easier to get through.


And hardware cloth is important for two reasons. One, as you've experienced coons can reach through chicken wire. I lost a meat bird to a hawk through chicken wire once. But also snakes, rats, even some weasels can go right through it, and a dog will just rip it off. Chicken wire is to keep chickens in, not other things out. A deceptive name, I know, but that's just how it is.

I hope this information lets you make the upgrades you need. Clearly you're upset and trying to fix it, so good on you for caring for your birds.

 

[RainbowHen]

So sorry that you are going through this, definitely a hard lesson learned. Hardware cloth is your best friend. You can back it with heavy gauge welded wire for larger predators. Running electric wire around your coop and run is also very effective. Chicken wire is only effective to keep chickens in, it won't keep anything out. You don't want any gaps anywhere in your coop or run that is larger than 1/2". If you trap the coon be prepared to kill it. Can you post photos of your set up so we can better help you?

 

[LeoTheUnicorn]

Please please consider no more chickens until you have a way to make sure you have a safe place for them to be? https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/simple-predator-proof-poultry-run.76036

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/predator-proofing-for-new-and-existing-coops

I'm not getting more and more chickens as they disappear to make up for the loss. We lost a few chickens a few years back, but nothing extreme, and then there wasn't a problem until now. Thank you for the information!

 

[LeoTheUnicorn]

Yikes. Raccoons are a mess. And even when we think that we have them beat they come back and sneak in some more. It's OK - we all make mistakes. I went years without a coon in the coop, until one day I didn't have chickens any more. Then I went another year without a coon in my NEW coop that I thought was great - until one day I lost a chckcen again. It's OK to make mistakes, it just sucks.

So, since you're feeling confident that it's a coon, you need to do two things - 1/2" hardware cloth and solid latches on each door. I'm not talking dinky little push latches or chains on a track.

These are worthless latches.
You want...

THESE. And you want a carabiner through that loop for raccoons. Easy to upgrade to a padlock if you ever run into problems with people, too. You want these on every mobile surface you can - pop doors, man doors, nest boxes.... Doesn't matter, latch it down on all corners and middles. The only reason they haven't ripped open a door is because the wire is easier to get through.


And hardware cloth is important for two reasons. One, as you've experienced coons can reach through chicken wire. I lost a meat bird to a hawk through chicken wire once. But also snakes, rats, even some weasels can go right through it, and a dog will just rip it off. Chicken wire is to keep chickens in, not other things out. A deceptive name, I know, but that's just how it is.

I hope this information lets you make the upgrades you need. Clearly you're upset and trying to fix it, so good on you for caring for your birds.

Thank you for the information! I will keep this in mind as I fix up my coop. But the main open area of our coop isn't just chicken wire. It's cyclone fencing that can be moved ( 7 or 8 feet tall) and then some chicken wire lining the inside and around the 2nd coop for the chicks in the spring. The raccoon somehow reached through and mutilated their heads. This happened with most of the older hens.

Thank you for the advice!

 

[LeoTheUnicorn]

So sorry that you are going through this, definitely a hard lesson learned. Hardware cloth is your best friend. You can back it with heavy gauge welded wire for larger predators. Running electric wire around your coop and run is also very effective. Chicken wire is only effective to keep chickens in, it won't keep anything out. You don't want any gaps anywhere in your coop or run that is larger than 1/2". If you trap the coon be prepared to kill it. Can you post photos of your set up so we can better help you?

I can try to upload pictures, but the way my coop is set up is a covering for the nesting boxes and two typical standing coops inside movable cyclone fencing ( 7 or 8 feet tall) with some chicken wire lining the inside and around one of the coops for the baby chicks.